It turns out out I had not really lost my Citi ATM, it was lost only in a hidden pocket I forgot about. But, I didn’t know it wasn’t really lost/stolen until 6 days after the “disappearance”. When I couldn’t locate it, I decided to be prudent and call (actually Skype) from Asia to immediately cancel the card. Fine. No problem canceling the card, but getting another was a different story. Although there are major Citi banks in the countries where I was, the soonest a new card could be delivered was 8 - 10 business days. No help. There is a procedure for getting emergency cash, but I travel with some foreign currency purchased in the US before departure, so I didn’t explore that. Between the cash I was carrying and credit cards (which I did not need to use for a cash advance), I ended up fine. A bit nervous though as I had anticipated using the ATM for additional reserves.
A replacement card was to be sent to my home - 3 days after the expected delivery, it is not here. Hubby has been home to receive mail - I know nothing has been missed. So, I am still locked out of on-line banking, ATM usage and, possibly, teller access. I am not going to try and find out about that - Hubby will do our banking for the near future.
I’d always assumed that with all the proper IDs, passcodes, and worldwide technology, losing an ATM would not be an insurmountable challenge to recover from quickly. How naive of me. Makes me very glad I also carry cash and multiple credit cards, but does concern me - what if my purse had been stolen and multiple cards taken? I do carry cards in different places and sometimes leave a card in the hotel safe, but I realize now that recovering any one of those I expect to use may not be quickly resolved. I have asked in the past and been told that Citi will not issue multiple ATMs for the same account. So, carrying multiple ATMs in different places seems to be a non-starter.
Anyone out there with a similar experience or other back-up plans? It doesn’t help that I frequently travel alone - when Hubby is along, we carry different cards.
I don’t see how any of theses issues are unique to Citibank. I also don’t see why you expected service from a foreign branch bank. Having seamless int’l service requires a special “international personal account”, which involves complex int’l tax laws and a substantial cash reserve.
I’ve lost my debit card 3 times in the last 8 months. It usually takes about 8-10 days to get a card which is not usually a problem, except the last time I had to take an emergency trip (which lasted 2 1/2 months) while waiting for new card. H could have mailed it but things have a way of not getting to my mothers mail box, so I told him to just bring it with him when he came down - 6 weeks later. Fortunately, I could write checks to my mom and get cash.
My mom had a bad fall - which was why I had to go and stay so long and she insisted I use her AmEx for everything while I was there. Wasn’t worth arguing with her so I always had her card with me. Naturally, about a month in I lost her card!!
It is expensive, but you should be able to get cash from your credit card in a pinch like that. It is also a good idea to take two credit cards. Last year I was kayaking in Belize, and had my credit card (needed to pay to rent the kayak) in a Baggie siting in front of me on a little ledge – the sun warped the card and it would no longer swipe. Fortunately I had another card in my wallet, back in the safe in the hotel. It had higher foreign txn fees, but saved me a lot of hassle.
Actually, I’m also a signer on a foreign Citi account in the country I was visiting. It didn’t help my situation with the US ATM card. As I said, I guess I am quite naive in thinking that foreign branches of US accounts can service clients worldwide. Live and learn - glad the experience was mostly frustrating, not catastrophic. I know banking laws have to tough.
Once, a foreign ATM ate my card after I keyed the wrong PIN too many times. I didn’t memorize the actual PIN numbers but the “pattern” they made, so it was a pattern I keyed in. I stupidly didn’t notice that that keypad was inverted (the “1” key in the bottom row, instead of in the top row). And I couldn’t remember the PIN of my US ATM card that I hadn’t used in a year.
I would have been totally screwed for cash if spouse didn’t happen to have a transitting flight thru that airport that day.
I travel with several backups: cards, cash and checks stashed in different places. Unfortunately, in many cases, immediate replacement frequently requires pay to play customer service. American Express platinum might be the card for you. Though it costs $450 a year ,it has plenty of perks including 24 hour replacement at no extra charge. Other perks: access to over 900 airport lounges, full credit towards TSA precheck application fees, $200 annual credit towards Airline incidental fees (baggage overage etc) and immediate “gold” status with several hotel groups. Since I am (finally) getting my TSA precheck in the near future, I am getting this card
The regular american express green card used to provide good service like check cashing in foreign countries and fast replacement card. I haven’t had the need to use those services in years so I am not sure of current service.
@anothermom2 – I think it was the case when every large city had an American Express office. However I believe that most of these are closed. I know the one on Rue Scribe in Paris closed (much to my dismay) and that’s one of the reasons I decided to just bight the bullet and go for the platinum.
Thanks @musicamusica. That American Express card was just recommended to me for deals on purchasing 2 business class airline seats. I was going to check and see if the 2-for deal I was quoted was true. I have Global Entry/TSA precheck already, access to the airline lounges I use and hotel status, but I will look into all the benefits. If I can provide lounge access for another family member lacking the points, it might make a lot of sense.
I’m glad I learned my lesson fairly painlessly. One of my friends travels with $100 bills as a back-up. She can exchange these in an emergency or just re-deposit them to the bank on her return. I may go this route next trip in addition to the extra credit cards and foreign currency I carry.
I too would not anticipate " instant concierge service" from a bank overseas. I get plenty of foreign currency in cash ahead of time because I don’t like the idea of wasting vacation time hunting down an ATM (and potentially unsafe to telegraph you are a tourist at an ATM) and relying on being able to pull cash from an ATM is foolish. I also then travel with Amex and a Chase Visa and they’ve been informed I’m going overseas so they aren’t surprised when they see foreign charges. I’ve never had a problem.
I’m giving this thread a bump to mention Travelex. My D took one of their “cash passport” cards as a backup to her chip/PIN bank debit card on her study abroad trip to Rome this month.
This is a prepaid debit card that can be preloaded in Euros, British pounds, Japanese Yen, Canadian dollars, Australian dollars and Mexican Pesos. It can be reloaded online with funds from another account. The exchange rate is locked in at the time of your purchase, and if you have foreign currency left over after your trip that you don’t want, you can sell it back to Travelex. (Their exchange rate is not as favorable as bank rates, but of course that is how Travelex makes its money.)
They send you two cards so you have a backup, but if both of them are lost/stolen, Travelex can get you a new card in as little as 24 hours. The card itself doesn’t have any of your personal information on it, so your identity cannot be stolen off it-- nor can you lose any of the funds in your Travelex account. The new card you receive will be loaded with the same amount of money as the card(s) you lost.
An ATM machine in France “ate” my card when I put it in backwards. In China, it took forever (like checking about 10 banks) to find an ATM machine that was connected to the international system. For travel abroad, it is essential to have a Plan B and a Plan C. Almost any (maybe even any) US bank should be able to get you cash in whatever foreign currency you want. We used to plan to find an ATM machine in the airport once we arrived, but arriving with some local currency is much less stressful.
AmEx Platinum doesn’t charge foreign ex rate when used overseas. More importantly they would provide medical airlift back to US for free if needed. That service could be 30K+ and if you were to pay for such insurance, annual fee is around 500.
The 2 for 1 business deal is not as great as one may think. Price of ticket is at the highest, refundable rate, not the discounted price. Most overseas business class ticket is around 7K for fully refundable ticket, but the same ticket can often be purchased for 3.5K (non refundable or big change fee). I have never used 2 for 1.